Authorised by Academic Registrar, April 1996
Synopsis This subject is open to students of religion, history, and European studies. It examines assumptions about Catholic culture which inform contemporary understandings of Europe. What was the role of history-writing in the development of an identifiably Christian culture? What were the boundaries between magic, superstition, and orthodox religion? What was the meaning of martyrdom, the cult, the saints, shrines, and pilgrimage? What was the relationship between institutional religion and popular piety, high culture and popular expressions of devotion? How did preaching and education by friars function in local context? To what extent did specifically Christian teachings shape the cultural milieu of early modern Europe? There will be a particular emphasis on recent micro-historical studies (Brown, Ginzburg, Davis, Trexler, Christian) which attempt to explore the religious cosmology of ordinary folk.
Assessment A research essay (5000 words) + Examination (1 hour) + Additional assessment of 3000 words for students taking the subject as a 12-point subject